Chick feeder



Dec. 7, 1943.

L. SHOEMAKER El'AL CHICK FEEDER Filed Feb. 13, 1941 .[ezazen 0% Patented Dec. 7, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFECE CHICK FEEDER Application February 13, 1941, Serial No. 378,788

Claims.

This invention relates to feeders for baby chicks or the like, of the kind that are made from paper blanks folded into box form to provide feeding openings through which the chicks or other little creatures can obtain access to the food within the boxlike area of the container.

Generally stated, the object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved end wall construotion for a box or container for this particular purpose, of such character that it will be strong and effective and render the entire box rigid and capable of standing up well against the wear and tear accorded by the baby chicks, as they are liable to swarm over a feeder of this kind and it needs to have strength.

It is also an object to provide certain details and features of construction tending to increase the general efiiciency and desirability of a baby chick feeder of this particular character.

To the foregoing and other useful ends, the invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawing, in Which- Fig. 1 is a perspective of a baby chick feeder embodying the principles of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective of one end portion of said feeder, with certain sections of the paper blank unfolded for convenience of illustration.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse section on line 33 in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view on line 4-4 in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view.

Fig. 6 is a plan View of one end portion of the paper blank from which the container forming the chick feeder is made.

As thus illustraterd, the paper or cardboard blank is cut with projections I and i at each end, and with rectangular iiaps 2 and 2 at each end, and with an end wall member 3 at each end, each end wall member 3 having an upper portion 4 defined in part by a fold line 5, all cut and shaped as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawing,

Preferably each projection l is provided with a fold line I ll near its outer end. Extending outwardly from fold line I9 is a notch 6 out between projection I and the adjacent panel sec tion 8 in line with the fold line i that extends transversely across the blank at each end thereof. The notch 6 makes it possible to bend the tabs H and H as shown in the drawing.

The vertical panel sections 8 and 8 and the top wall sections 9 and 9 are of the same construction as corresponding parts of the chick feeder shown in Shoemaker U. S. Patent No.

2,234,131. For this reason they are not specifically described herein.

Each end wall member 3 is provided with a slot I2 extending upwardly from below fold line 5 and terminating in a rectangular enlargement I3 near the rounded edge of upper portion 4, and the two tabs II, when folded as shown in Fig. 5, can pass through this rectangular opening I3, but the body portions of the projections l extend through the slot I2, as shown in the drawing. This interlocking action serves to hold the end wall members 3 vertical and render the structure rigid. It will also be seen that the base of the upper portion 4 of each end wall 3 has a pair of tabs I4 that are tucked down behind the upper edges of the end wall flaps 2 when the parts are folded as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing. This further contributes to the rigidity of the end wall construction at each end of the container forming the chick feeder.

Thus, the feeder is made from a single blank of paper or cardboard or other flexible material, and if it be desired to knock the feeder down for storage, so to speak, all that is necessary is to bend down the two tabs II until they can pass through the opening l3, and the entire blank will then unfold and can be spread out flat. Thus, no staples or pins or other fastening devices are necessary to hold the blank in folded condition and keep the feeder rigid and prevent it from unfolding.

Preferably, as shown, the upper edges of the rectangular end wall flaps 2 are substantially above the top walls 9 when theblank is folded into container form. Also, the fold line 5 is preferably a little above the said upper edges of the end wall flaps 2 when the blank is entirely folded and in. the condition; shown in Fig. 1' of the drawing. In addition, the flaps 2 are pref erably long enough to overlap as shown in the drawing 1 As may be seen in Figure 1, the positioning, of

- the tabs l4 transversely of the end wall flaps 2 and along the inner surface of these flaps is fa-' cilitated by the fold line 5. The tabs I4 are preferably put in position, as shown in Figure 1, before the projections I and I are inserted through slots I2 at opposite ends of the container forming the feeder,.since the assembly is more easily accomplished in this manner.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. A baby chick feeder having a centrally located member secured to the side walls thereof and extending from end to end of said feeder, said centrally located member having projections on either end extending outwardly through a slot in each end wall of said feeder, said projections including portions extending generally longitudinally of said slots, and tabs extending at a substantial angle with respect to said longitudinal portions in planes generally normal to the planes of said end walls so that the inner edges of said tabs rest against the outer surfaces of said end walls and secure the parts of said feeder in place, each of said slots having an enlarged, generally rectangular, longitudinal extension permitting passage of the tabs of said projections when the tabs are folded against the surfaces of said projections as the projections are inserted or removed from said slots, whereby said feeder may be readily put together and reconverted into the form of a blank.

2. A blank adapted to be folded into a baby chick feeder and comprising a bottom wall portion having two side wall portions and two end Wall portions connected thereto, each of said side wall portions having a top wall portion connected thereto, each top wall portion in turn having a panel portion connected thereto, the body of said panel portion extending from end to end of said bottom portion and said panel portions being adapted to extend upwardly from the said top Wall portions adjacent each other when said blank is folded into a feeder, and each of said panel portions having a projection on each end extending beyond said bottom portion, each of said two end wall portions having a slot therein extending generally perpendicularly with respect to the line where said end wall portion and said bottom wall portion are joined, which slot is adapted to receive two of said projections, each of said projections including, in addition to the portion secured directly to its panel portion a tab separated from the body of its panel portion by a narrow slot adjacent the outer edge of said panel portion and each of said end wall portions having an enlarged, longitudinal extension of the slot permitting passage of the pair of tabs at the corresponding end of the panel portions when the tabs are folded against the surfaces of said projections as the projections are inserted or removed from said slots, whereby said feeder may be readily put together and reconverted into the form of a blank.

3. A baby chick feeder, the parts of which are all integral portions of a single piece of thin flexible sheet material, which baby chick feeder comprises vertical end walls and vertical side Walls, top Wall portions integral with said side Walls, and centrally located vertical panel portions integral with said top wall portions and extending from end to end of said feeder in abutting relation to each other, each of said panel portions having projections on each end extending outwardly through a vertical slot in each end wall of said feeder, said projections including portions extending generally longitudinally of said slots, and tabs extending in planes generally normal to the planes of said end walls and traversing said slots at a substantial angle so that the inner edges of said tabs rest against the outer surfaces of said end Walls and secure the parts of said feeder in place, each of said slots having an enlarged,

generally rectangular, longitudinal extension permitting passage of the tabs when the tabs are folded against the surfaces of said projections as the projections are inserted or removed from said slots, whereby said feeder may be readily put together and reconverted into the form of a blank.

4. A baby chick feeder including a bottom wall, vertical side walls secured to said bottom wall, vertical end walls secured to said bottom wall, top wall portions integral with said side walls, and centrally located vertical panel portions integral with said top wall portions and extending from end to end of said feeder in abutting relation to each other, each of said end walls having a vertical slot formed therein and a pair of tabs formed thereon, and each of said panel portions having projections on each end extending outwardly through said vertical slots, said projections including portions extending generally longitudinally of said slots, and tabs on the upper ends of said projections extending in planes generally normal to the planes of said end walls and traversing said slots at a substantial angle so that the inner edges of said tabs rest against the outer surfaces of said end walls and secure the parts of said feeder in place, said slots having enlarged, generally rectangular, longitudinal extensions permitting passage of the tabs when the tabs are folded against the surfaces of said projections as the projections are inserted or removed from said slots, each of said side walls having a flap of greater height than the side walls and secured thereto at each end thereof and folded within the adjacent end Walls, and tabs formed on said end walls above the level of said top wall portions and overlapping the edges of the flaps which extend above the level of the top wall portions.

5. A baby chick feeder including a bottom wall, vertical side walls secured to said bottom wall, vertical end walls secured to said bottom Wall, top wall portions integral with said side walls, and centrally located vertical panel portions integral with said top wall portions and extending from end to end of said feeder in abutting relation to each other, each of said end walls having a vertical slot formed therein and a pair of tabs formed thereon, and each of said panel portions having projections on each end extending outwardly through said vertical slots, said projections including portions extending generally longitudinally of said slots, and tabs on the upper ends of said projections extending in planes generally normal to the planes of said end walls and traversing said slots at a substantial angle so that the inner edges of said tabs rest against the outer surfaces of said end walls and secure the parts of said feeder in place, each of said side walls having a fiap of greater height than the side walls and secured thereto at each end thereof and folded within the adjacent end Wall, and tabs formed on said end wall above the level of said top wall portions and overlapping the edges of the flaps which extend above the level of the top Wall portions.

LOUIS A. SHOEMAKER. KENT ANTHONY LENZEN. 

